ABOUT
Steph Green's music is for those who fancy the art of songwriting, depicting a lonely world illuminated by strangeness and beauty. Her sophomore album, "Lore", is a series of vignettes that immerse the listener in dreams and nightmares of the West. It's a world of towering storm clouds, flooding rivers, the smell of ponderosa pines, the pull of desert moons, and revenge, regret, and redemption under diamond skies. The natural and supernatural collide, wailing spirits wander lost highways, and shapeshifting starling murmurations soar overhead of restless loners.
Green produced and recorded "Lore" at home on a borrowed 16-track reel-to-reel, creating a distinctive and otherworldly sound with weeping steel guitar, washy organ, and ghostly vocal layering reverberating from a distant dimension. Embarking on an almost entirely solo recording process that allowed room for experimentation, Green also enlisted long-time collaborator Duff Thompson as the rhythm section on bass and drums. Out October 20th on Mashed Potato Records, "Lore" is a rugged, eerie, and wild homage to both a real and imagined place.
Green brought the same DIY ethos and spirit of experimentation that characterizes "Lore" to her previous releases, all of which were also recorded analog and variously featured her in the roles of producer and multi-instrumentalist. Her debut album "Thanks for That" and second EP, "Spooky Love" were recorded mostly live in makeshift home studios while living in New Orleans, with both releases taking influence from a combination of garage, indie rock/pop and country music. Her first release and venture into writing and recording was the cassette 4-track EP, "Salt Spring Island Tapes", created alone in a seaside barn in British Columbia, following years of traveling and performing as a street musician. In addition to her own project, Green co-runs the label Mashed Potato Records, and has also performed as a backing musician and vocalist for numerous songwriters over the years, appearing most recently on recordings for Duff Thompson and Dean Johnson. Following an extensive era of collaboration in New Orleans, "Lore" finds Green returning to her roots in Canada, multi-tracking her way through the isolated, northern winter.
“Teardrop Skies,” is quite a sonic experience, filled to its tippy top with delightful spoonfuls of ear candy."
"The record feels like changing radio stations in a dream, with each new sound bringing something new but all united in an irresistible pop reverie."
"Steph Green pairs her arresting songwriting with forlorn lap steel and honey-coated, heart-wrenching vocal deliveries."
"Open-ended enough to let your mind run wild with possibilities, with a musical flourish that’s at once forward thinking and delightfully familiar. It’s an early shout, but don’t be surprised if Thanks For That is one of 2022’s first great records."
"There's elegance in Green and her band's dedication to analog simplicity, making space for a sense of full-hearted intimacy to prevail even as she reaches for the stars."